Toothbrush



Au -29,1933. DMC'ONEYE-F 1,924,152

TOOTHBRUSH.

Filed Nov. 2, 1931 19W TOR.

A TTORNEYS.

Patented Aug. 29, 1933 PATENT OFFICE TOOTHBRUSH David M. Coney andZachary T. Coney, San Francisco, Calif.

Application November 2, 1931. Serial No. 572,555

6 Claims. (Cl. 15-167) This invention relates to a tooth brush andparticularly to a tooth brush which employs both hog's hair bristles andrubber bristles.

Practically all tooth brushes in use today em- 6 ploy hog's hairbristles for the purpose of cleansing the teeth. Many years of carefulobservation has determined that the ordinary tooth brush as used causesdetrimental wearing away of the teeth, the gum tissue, the peridentalmeml brane, and the bony structure investing the teeth; the greatestharm from'such wear being the destruction of the gum ligament which isattached to the necks of the teeth as this causes recession of the gumand a predisposition to pyorrhea. In fact, many cases have been observedwhere the abrasive action of an ordinary tooth brush has been so greatas to practically cut through the thin enamel adjacent the necks of theteeth, thus rendering the teeth very sensitive.

The object of the present invention is to provide a tooth brush wherebydetrimental wear to teeth, gums, etc., may be substantially eliminated;to provide a tooth brush in which hog's hair bristles and rubberbristles are so combined that the teeth may be thoroughly brushed andcleansed without injurious wear to the adjacent tissue; to provide atooth brush whereby the gums may be massaged and the teeth brushedsimultaneously; and further, to provide a tooth brush which is so shapedthat both the inner and outer surfaces of the teeth may be efllcientlybrushed.

The tooth brush is shown by way of illustration in the accompanyingdrawing, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the brush. I

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a cross section taken on line III-III of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view Mom of the rubber bristles.

Referring to the drawing in detail A indicates the handle and B the headof a tooth brush. Suitably secured in the head are rows of hog's 4 hairbristles c and rubber bristles D and E. The hair bristles extend fromend to end of the head and are preferably arranged in cross rows withthe opposite end of each cross row pointed as indicated at 22, thisbeing an important feature as it permits the bristles to readily enterthe spaces between the teeth when brushing the same. The rubber bristlesare preferably arranged in longitudinal rows, one row on each side ofthe head. This is also important as they partially shield the hairbristles and in this manner protect the gums against the abrasive actionof the same and they furthermore provide a means whereby the gums willbe subjected to a massaging action when the teeth are being brushed.

The shape or,construction of the rubber 'bristles is best shown in Figs.2 and 4. From these views it will be noted that the upper ends of therubber bristles are wedge-shaped as indicated at 3 to permit them topass freely between the teeth, and also to permit thehair bristles tofollow through. The exterior surfaces of the rubberbristles arecorrugated or serrated as shown at 4 and as such form an undulatingsurface ideal for massaging the gums. The rear surfaces of the rubberbristles are rounded as indicated at 5 to permit free flexing or bendingof the hair bristles in a direction lateral of the brush and the pointand heel of the brush is left open as indicated at 6 and 7 to permitfree movement of the bristles in a longitudinal direction. This is 7 offurther importance especially as it allows the bristles at the forwardend of the brush to cleanse the inner surface of. the front teeth.

By referring to Figs. 1 and 3, it will be noted that the hair bristlesare considerably longer than the protecting rubber bristles. This formsan elevated abrasive surface for the cleansing of the teeth and at thesame time permits free movement of the bristles when brushing.

In actual practice the tooth brush is preferably 95 manipulated asfollows: If the lower teeth are to be brushed first, the head of thebrush with the bristles pointed downwardly is introduced between thecheek and the outer surface of the teeth. In this position the rubberbristles will rest against the gum portion below the necks of the teethand as such will protect the gums against the abrasive action of thehair bristles. The handle of the brush is then rotated or rocked aboutits longitudinal axis by means of the hand approximately one-halfrevolution and during such rotation or rocking movement the rubberbristles will rub and massage the gums in an upward direction and thelonger hair bristles will brush over the outer surfaces of the teeth andwill also enter the intervening spaces between the same; the brushingaction being in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the teethrather than crosswise of the teeth as is-common practice.

This rotational or rocking movement of thebrush is repeated a sufilcientnumber of times until the surfaces of the teeth are thoroughly cleansedand all deleterious particles of food, etc., are removed from betweenthe teeth. The upper teeth are brushed in the same manner, the onlydifference being that the position of the brush head is reversed so thatthe bristles will point upwardly; it being understood that both theinner and outer surfaces of the teeth must be-brushed in the same mannerif the teeth are to be thoroughly cleansed.

The cleansing eiilciency of a tooth brush is dependent upon the hogbristles. When rubber is wetand tooth paste or powder is used, therubber bristles slide over the gums and the teeth and performcomparatively little, if any, of the cleansing operation. They do,however, protect the gums as they are interposed between the gums andthe hair bristles, but as the hair bristles are longer and, as the brushhead is being rotated, the hair bristles will sweep over the surfaces ofthe teeth and will also pass between the teeth, thus insuring thecleansing action desired. The preferable method, as described, is thatof imparting a rocking or rotational movement to the brush, or in otherwords to brush the teeth in an up and down direction. The brush hereillustrated is, of course, particularly intended for that purpose, butif a person brushes his or her teeth in the usual manner by pulling thebrush back and forth across the teeth, the brush here shown will bebetter than the ordinary brush as the hair bristles will still sweepover the surfaces of the teeth while the exterior rows of rubberbristles will engage the gums and to that extent protect the same.

The arrangement of the rubber bristles exterior of the hair bristles andat each side thereof is accordingly exceedingly important as it forms aprotection for the tender gum tissue at the necks of the teeth and alsothe gum tissue in the interdental spaces. Furthermore, the gums willreceive a certain amount of massage action and this is desirable as itpromotescirculation and furthermore hardens the gums.

While certain features of the present invention are more or lessspecifically described, we wish it understood that various changes maybe resorted to within the scope of the appended claims. Similarly, thatthe materials and finish of the several parts employed may be such asthe manufacturer may decide, or varying conditions or uses may demand.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent is- 1. In a tooth brush an elongated head member, apair of rows of rubber bristles extending substantially from end to endof the head, one row on each side thereof, and rows of hair bristlesextending crosswise of the head intermediate the rows of rubberbristles, said hair bristles being of greater length than the rubberbristles and forming an abrasive surface which is elevated with relationto the ends of the rubber bristles and having one rubber bristle foreach cross row of hair bristles, and said rubber bristles aligning withthe cross rows of hair bristles.

2. In a tooth brush an elongated head member, a plurality of rows ofhair bristles extending from end to end of the head and arrangedcrosswise thereof, each end of each cross row terminating in a point, apair of rows of rubber bristles extending substantially from end to endof the head, one row on each side of the rows of hair bristles, theupper ends of said rubber bristles being wedge-shaped, and'corrugationsformed in the outer faces of said rubber bristles.

3. In a tooth brush an elongated head member, a pair of rows of rubberbristles extending substantially from end to end of the head, one row oneach side thereof, rows of hair bristles intermediate the rows of rubberbristles, said hair bristles being of greater length than the rubberbristles and forming an abrasive surface which is elevated with relationto the ends of the rubber bristles, and said rubber bristles beingsubstantially wedge-shaped at their upper ends and their outer facesbeing provided with corrugations.

4. In a tooth brush having hair bristles arranged throughout anelongated area, and a row of rubber bristles on each side thereof, saidrubber bristles having their surfaces toward the hair bristles curved topermit flexing and having relatively flat corrugated outer surfaces withwhich to massage the gums.

5. In a tooth brush having hair bristles, a row of resilient bristlesdisposed on each side thereof, and corrugations formed in the exteriorsurfaces of the resilient bristles.

6. In a tooth brush having an elongated head, rows of hair bristlesextending from end to end thereof, and a row of rubber bristles on eachside of the hair bristles to cover the exterior side rows of hairbristles, said rows of rubber bristles terminating short of one end ofthe rows of hair bristles to expose a tuft of hair bristles at the outerend of the head.

DAVID M. CONEY. ZACHARY T. CONEY.

